


Upswing

by purdledooturt



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Also features Guerilla Caitlyn, Base Taliyah, DJ Sona, Explorer Ezreal, F/M, Pool Party Lulu, Sandstorm Ekko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:24:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8419555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purdledooturt/pseuds/purdledooturt
Summary: Rift Lesson #17: Respect the dance party. Taliyah's first match in the League of Legends continues her streak of making embarrassing first impressions. This one didn't turn out so bad, though.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Initially posted on my website, [purdledooturt.com](http://www.purdledooturt.com). It's also available for download in PDF form there but you can also download it here, haha. Oopsies.
> 
> **Spoilers for the 2016 World Championships** at the end of the post.

 

When she was transported to the Summoner’s Rift for the first time, Taliyah was a mixture of amazed and terrified. Standing in a circle, facing her teammates, Taliyah could feel the reassuring presence of a guardian behind her, and she turned to look at the large stone turret that indicated their corner of the map. The Shuriman chewed on the inside of her lip, trapping the end of her tongue between her teeth, as she tried to push down the feelings of nervousness that began to rise up through her stomach. She glanced over at her Noxian teammate, Katarina, and turned away as the redhead caught her eye. A voice in the back of her head quipped up, “you stole her usual spot”, making the anxiety worse. Her nerves were all over the place. It was unbecoming.

“Chill out, kid,” Katarina said, eyeing the ground beneath her with an amused expression. The Shuriman girl’s gaze followed hers to find the ground beneath her feet wobbling in response to her haywire emotions. She could feel heat swell in her cheeks in embarrassment - she was probably looking like such an amateur, not even able to control her element out of sheer nervousness. But that was what she was - an amateur, with this being her first League of Legends match. She pursed her lips and forced herself to calm, imagining the nerves within her and pushing it down. She was no use to anyone as a jumbled mess, and it was only unfair to her team if she let her fear cloud her before the match even starts.

The Noxian continued, turning away from Taliyah to walk over to the shopkeeper. “You’ll be alright,” she said, surprising the Shuriman with her faith. Despite her dislike for (and prejudice against) Noxians, Katarina seemed to be regarding her with curt civility. Remembering that they were working together to reach a common goal (at least, at the moment, during this match on the Rift), Taliyah decided to regard the other woman with as much civility as she was willing to give. She nodded at the assassin.

“I will give it my best.”

The scarred woman merely smirked and shook her head, muttering something under her breath. Next to Taliyah, a little Yordle adjusted her floatation device with a grin. While she tried to recall her teammate’s name, she smiled reluctantly back. A little hand lifted to pat against hers. “You’ll be okay,” she said, “we’ll keep an eye on you!” Turning to the male to Taliyah’s other side, the Yordle (Lilia? Lucy?) gestured towards the shop keeper. “Come on, Ez.”

Ezreal smiled at Taliyah as the carry and support walked over to the shop keeper and rattled off item names with ease. The transaction was quick - the shop keeper looked like she had their items ready before they even completed the order. Taliyah followed after, noting that their jungler had already left with Katarina without so much as a hello or a goodbye. She was on her own. 

She was somewhat glad she had been the last to buy items. Unlike the others, she was unsure of what was good to buy, so she had a chat with the shop keeper who recommended a ring and a potion. With the bottle of potion tucked carefully in her belt, she thanked the shop keeper with a bow and made her way down to mid lane, summoning rocks under her feet for her to skate in. She kept herself close to the structures that fascinated her - the large Nexus which glowed blue, the inhibitors which looked like smaller Nexuses, and the sculpted turrets. They were unnatural and they were new, but they weren’t completely unfamiliar. She could feel the stone and the earth beneath her, and she revelled in the fact that she wasn’t completely out of her depth.

She approached the outer border of her second tower’s protection with apprehension. She didn’t want to let anyone down by losing badly, so she tried to remember the bits of advice she received from the explorer while the summoners were preparing. Ezreal had told her all she needed to do was to play it safe and trust her gut. He told her not to feel bad should her first game go disappointingly - the Rift was a lot to take in, with rules and strategies that are most likely unfamiliar to Taliyah. They at least didn’t expect the world of her for her first match, but she didn’t want to set the bar low.

The little Yordle called to her from the side bush, taking her by surprise. Already she had let Ezreal down by being caught off guard - she fingered the vision ward trinket that hung on her belt and realised it would probably be in her best interest to keep the areas around her lit up. The Yordle pulled her out of her thoughts, ushering her over with a curl of her little fingers. “Come on,” she called out, impatiently but not without humour. “We were getting worried you were waiting for the minions to come.”

Confused, Taliyah approached her teammate, trusting the little Yordle not to lead her to her death. She hoped that her faith was not misplaced, remembering the story she had heard about Lulu (that’s right, that was her name) leading children to the Glade. She didn’t really feel like going to the Glade. “I know you’re nervous,” Lulu said, breaking through the silence as they walked through the thick jungle, “so we thought we’d do something fun to welcome you!”

They emerged in the river and saw Ezreal standing there, looking completely at ease. He stood next to a tall, buxom woman, whose long hair flowed and floated in windless atmosphere behind her. She smiled at him - her lips were all Taliyah could see from under the lit-up helmet, which showed pulsing bars in different colours - with glossy and plump lips. He bobbed his head and tapped his feet in time with a melody Taliyah couldn’t hear, and she turned to Lulu in confusion. This was the _enemy_ support, standing next to _their_ carry, nodding their heads to silence. The desert-born weaver wondered if this was a test. A hazing ritual, perhaps?

Behind the two of them stood a guerrilla whose expression probably reflected Taliyah’s. She eyed Ezreal with distrust, and her eyes shifted over to Lulu, then to Taliyah, before settling back on the explorer. She held her rifle close to her chest, tense and ready to spring at the first sign of trouble. She eyed her own support with annoyance.

Taliyah looked down at herself, suddenly self-conscious after seeing the enemy carry. She had long, straight, shiny brown hair flowing under a fashionable beret. Her boots made her legs look miles long, and it made the Shuriman very aware of her short legs and well-worn boots. 

“Relax, Piltie,” said a warm, honeyed male voice, spitting the name out like something so offensive, and Taliyah looked up to find a newcomer emerging from the direction of the mid lane. This must be her opponent for the day. As he approached the light clearing (it seemed that the vision ward placed by _someone_ was helping her see the enemies, further cementing to Taliyah that vision would probably be important), she felt her breath catch in her throat. She took his appearance in, fascinated. He was pretty in the opposite way Ezreal was pretty. Ezreal was lean and active and rugged, but not to the level the newcomer was rugged. His toned muscles flexed unconsciously under dark skin, and she was embarrassed to find her eyes followed their movements just as subconsciously. She forced her eyes upwards, taking in the rest of his features, hoping he hadn’t noticed her rude staring.

He had his weapon wielded behind his head, and the lower half of his face was covered by a piece of cloth. A large hourglass-shaped golden cask hung behind him. His outfit reminded her of home, but no one at her home made her feel flustered the way he was making her feel flustered. His abs peeked out from under his vest, and Taliyah wondered when she started noticing such things. She couldn’t see his mouth move, but he could tell from his eyes that he was regarding the enemy carry (his teammate) with a mildly hostile expression.

“Well, this is everyone that can join us this side of the map,” declared the Yordle, smiling at the collection of champions that stood around. She tried to peek behind the guerilla, but it was still dark from the fog. “Unless Pantheon has changed his mind?”

The ‘Piltie’ pursed her lips, and her brows furrowed. “He hasn’t,” she said, addressing the little pool-party-prepared Yordle, “but _I_ have. Sorry, Lulu,” she said, although she didn’t sound so sorry. She exchanged a heated glance with the newcomer before she turned and bowed to Taliyah, addressing the new champion, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss Taliyah - I hope we can meet properly later on after the game.” Taliyah bowed back.

“Cait,” called Ezreal, as the guerrilla turned on her heel and started walking in to the fog, “wait a sec…”

“Let her go,” said the tan boy, lifting a hand. “You know how Pilties are.”

“I don’t think that’s a Piltovian thing,” said Ezreal with a tight smile, “I think it’s a Caitlyn thing.” Turning to Taliyah, his expression shifted to sheepish.

“Ah well,” Lulu said, not at all bothered that someone had left and changed the plans around by doing so. The little female seemed to work well on the fly. Taliyah hoped that was a good thing. “The more the merrier but you don’t need a lot of people to have fun at a dance party! Hit it, Sona!”

The helmeted woman nodded at Lulu and Taliyah heard music. It was different to songs she grew up to, but it was catchy and easy to dance to, with synthesised beats that sounded hypnotic. Sona and Ezreal’s head bobbing suddenly made sense. This music was good.

“Are you making this?” she asked Sona, immediately feeling foolish for even asking. The answer was probably yes. The musician was kind and nodded at her gently, and her hair looked like long, gradient ribbons. “It’s amazing.”

“It is,” said Lulu impassively, shooting forward grabbing Taliyah’s hand. “Come on, let’s dance!” She dragged Taliyah forward and grabbed the mysterious boy’s hand as well, pulling the two sun-kissed champions together. They kicked up river water as they did so. The faery let out a delighted series of giggles. “Get dancing! Relax, Taliyah! Come on, Ekko, help her out!”

Ekko. So that was his name. It sort of fit him. In close proximity she could swear she could smell him, and his eyes were so lovely and mesmerising. Everything about him reminded her painfully of home. His eyebrows raised and he greeted her - she could hear the smile in his tone. “Hello!”

“Hello,” she replied, swinging idly side to side in an attempt to dance.

“Come on,” he said, moving animatedly, inviting her to do the same. “Don’t be nervous! I mean, you’ve got my word I won’t hit you unless you hit me first.” He moved in time with the music, inviting her to do the same. She looked behind her to find Ezreal and Lulu dancing, and Sona manning her hovering music station. They looked completely at ease - and besides, it would be a three on two fight if anything breaks out. 

Letting her worries lie, she decided to try and enjoy herself in Ekko’s company. These champions had come together to try and put her at ease during her first match, and the least she could do was actually follow their request. Swinging herself in a livelier manner, she closed her eyes and felt the breeze of the forest around her. Taliyah wanted to lose herself in the music. She let out a breathy giggle, letting the nerves bubble over and spill out - she wanted the nervous energy out. She wanted to clear her head but the boy next to her was making it difficult as he pretended to strum a guitar and throw an impromptu performance in front of the other four champions in front of him. Suddenly she was nervous for a different reason.

Two things happened at once.

The ground beneath her wobbled, putting everyone around her on unsteady footing. She could hear Lulu’s exclamations as Ezreal blinked off to solid ground. Sona, who was hovering, was unaffected, and continued to play her song as her audience danced new, similar steps - avoiding cracks and moving around lifting rocks. Taliyah was too nervous to notice, still too close to Ekko.

He was also affected by her rock dance, and he tried to find his balance by holding on to her arm lightly. Caught mid-swing, Taliyah’s long, wide sleeve wrapped around Ekko and he finally lost his balance, pulling her down with him.

She had finally noticed something was different when she felt the breath forced out of her lungs on impact. Thinking momentarily that she had been betrayed (she felt a little miffed about the thought of betrayal), she opened her eyes to find Ekko beneath her, looking at her with wide, surprised eyes. An eyebrow lifted, and the corners of his eyes wrinkled with a hidden smile. With a shriek, she tried to pull away, only to be yanked back by his weight on her sleeve. 

She crossed her fingers and toes that the action hadn’t ripped her robe.

Her face burned at the realisation of what had happened. She had lost control again, out of embarrassment, and now she looked like a fool! As Ekko rolled away from her sleeve, both of their clothing now drenched by river water, she lifted her hands to cover her arms to hide the burning in her cheeks. It took all she had not to make the very earth she commanded fall beneath her, to hide her from her new friends. Remembering how she buried her own teacher in an avalanche prior to meeting him, Taliyah cursed herself and her luck with first impressions.

Laughter echoed in her ears and she burrowed deeper into her arms. “That was awesome, Taliyah,” Ekko’s voice said, and she looked up to see him offering his hand to help her stand. Lulu was already chatting away, and Sona paused in her music-making to watch Taliyah with confusion, having missed the past few minutes. She was making music one moment and next minute the two mid-laners were dripping and blushing. Ezreal was at her side and explaining what had happened to her without any prompting. Taliyah could only hope that Sona didn’t laugh at her too, but she turned away before she could see. At least she wouldn’t be able to _hear_ it. 

“It was?” she asked, remembering suddenly that the other boy had paid her a compliment. “I mean, I guess it was. I’m sorry for hitting you,” she said, her words now spilling as her mouth caught up to her active mind. She started offering him her arm. “You can hit me back. I _did_ ruin the whole dance-peace thing.”

He shook his head, pulled the cover away from his face, and grinned at her, making her heart skip and the earth beneath her shift again. She quashed the strong emotion down and focused on solid ground, annoyed at how a _smile_ could affect her so much. 

“You’re cute,” he said nonchalantly, making her eyes bulge out in surprise. “You can make it up to me later.”

**Author's Note:**

> Today I sat on my couch for seven hours, watching the 2016 League of Legends world championship. Congratulations to SKT for winning for a second year in a row - well played to Samsung Galaxy for putting up a good fight. Let's all celebrate good League of Legends - I'm contributing this fanfic. Kek.


End file.
